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Overview

The world (or much of it) is waking up. Climate change and the damage wrought on the environment by human behaviour have begun to take root in our collective consciousness. Commitments at a political, corporate and social level abound, and are beginning to yield results. Sustainability has shifted from a "nice to have" to a core component of business strategy for many global companies.

And yet, global temperatures continue to rise, deaths from air pollution in big cities are worryingly high and drought threatens the livelihoods of millions of people across the world. At the same time, neglect and misinformation are widespread, complicating efforts to slow—let alone reverse—these trends.

It is time to focus on the facts. The fourth edition of The Economist’sSustainability Summit will marshal the evidence to measure past progress, and assess where and how policymakers, financial institutions and business leaders should act. Where are we on the sustainability front compared with where we need to be? In what areas are efforts still falling short? Has the world already passed the point of no return in terms of climate change? And to what extent should efforts be directed at adaptation rather than mitigation?

Bringing together industry leaders, policymakers, entrepreneurs and researchers from around the world, the Sustainability Summit will assess what businesses need to achieve and chart a path for getting there.

Why attend

List of participating organisations in Sustainability Summit 2019:
Click here to download the full list:

Speakers

Daniel Calleja Crespo

Director general, environment, European Commission

Daniel Calleja Crespo

Director general, environment, European Commission

Since he first joined the Commission in 1986, Daniel Calleja has worked in several different areas which accounts for his broad expertise and experience. Prior to being appointed director general for DG Environment on 1 st September 2015, he was director general of DG GROWTH. From February 2011 to January 2012, he was deputy director general of DG ENTR, and special envoy for SMEs. From 1993 to 2004, Mr. Calleja worked in the cabinets of several commissioners, including the president of the European Commission, advising on Transport and Competition matters, State Aids and the application of Community Law. Between 1999 and 2004 he was head of cabinet for both commissioner Oreja and vice-president Mrs. Loyola de Palacio, in charge of Transport and Energy where he contributed decisively to the development of some key files. Daniel Calleja started his career in the Commission as member of the legal service between 1986 and 1993. During that period, his background being Law and Business Administration, he represented the institution in numerous cases before the European Court of Justice.

Mami Mizutori

Special representative of the UN Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction

Mami Mizutori

Special representative of the UN Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction

Mami Mizutori is the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General (SRSG) for Disaster Risk Reduction, and head of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, based in Geneva, Switzerland. She assumed her role on 1 March 2018. The role of the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction is to support countries and stakeholders in the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015- 2030). The Special Representative ensures the strategic and operational coherence between disaster risk reduction, climate change and sustainable development agendas as well as the linkage with the UN Secretary General’s prevention agenda and with humanitarian action. Ms. Mizutori served for twenty-seven years in various capacities in the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Prior to joining the UN, Ms. Mizutori was Executive Director of the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures, University of East Anglia, UK, since 2011. Ms. Mizutori graduated in law from Hitotsubashi University, Tokyo and obtained a Diploma in International Studies from the Diplomatic School of Spain. A Japanese national, Ms. Mizutori speaks Japanese, English and Spanish.

Patricia Scotland QC

Secretary general, The Commonwealth

Patricia Scotland QC

Secretary general, The Commonwealth

The Rt Hon Patricia Scotland QC took office as Secretary-General of the Commonwealth in April 2016. The Commonwealth is a family of 53 independent sovereign states, and home to 2.4 billion people. Building on the Commonwealth Advantage of shared inheritances, and similarities of law and administration, its members are committed to creating a more inclusive, sustainable, and resilient future for all.

The people and institutions of the Commonwealth work together through a broad range of intergovernmental, civil society, cultural and professional organisations committed to the shared values and principles of the Commonwealth Charter that cherish equality of opportunity and celebrate diversity.

In a career of firsts, Patricia Scotland is the first woman to hold the post of Secretary-General. Born in Dominica, she moved to the UK at an early age and was brought up in a large close-knit Caribbean family where she was taught the importance of hard work, education, pride in her heritage and the obligation to give back to the region of her birth and to the society in which she was raised. This ethos has guided her throughout her dynamic career in law, politics and public service.

A lawyer by profession, she became the first black and youngest woman ever to be appointed Queen's Counsel. She is the only woman since the post was created in 1315 to be Attorney General for England and Wales.

Appointed to the House of Lords as Baroness Scotland of Asthal, she is Alderman for Bishopsgate Ward in the City of London and Chancellor of the University of Greenwich.

Manfred Rudhart

Chief executive, Arriva Group

Manfred Rudhart

Chief executive, Arriva Group

Manfred is chief executive of Arriva Group – a €5.3bn business that operates passenger transport services across 14 European countries, employing over 60,000 people with responsibility for moving more than 2.4 billion passengers annually. Manfred joined Arriva as chief executive in January 2016 following eight years in a variety of senior management and financial roles within Deutsche Bahn AG, including chief executive for DB Regio AG, which operates short distance train services, metros and buses in Germany. Prior to that Manfred worked for management consultancy firm Booz Allen Hamilton, Germany. Manfred started his professional career in research and development for laser applications. He studied electrical engineering at the Technical University of Karlsruhe before gaining a PhD in the same field at the Franco-Allemand Institute in Saint-Louis, France in 1995.

Han de Groot

Chief executive officer, Rainforest Alliance

Han de Groot

Chief executive officer, Rainforest Alliance

As chief executive officer, Han de Groot leads the Rainforest Alliance’s global strategy. With a strong vision and passion for sustainability, he has overseen the growth of UTZ to become the world’s largest certification program for coffee and cocoa and now leads the merged Rainforest Alliance. Han has dedicated his career to sustainable development. After studying economics at the University of Wageningen, he worked for more than 12 years at Oxfam Novib, eventually leading the organization’s work in Eastern and Southern Africa. In 1998 Han joined the Dutch government. From 2005 to 2010, he held various positions at the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, including deputy director for Nature. He also started an interdepartmental program for biodiversity and was briefly seconded to the European Commission.

Richard Walker

Managing Director, Iceland Foods

Richard Walker

Managing Director, Iceland Foods

Richard Walker is Managing Director of Iceland Foods. He graduated in geography
from Durham University before qualifying as a chartered surveyor and developing his
own property businesses in Poland and the UK. He joined Iceland in 2012, spending
a year as a shelf-stacker and cashier in London before becoming an Iceland store
manager and then moving to head office, where he became a director in 2015 and
took up his current role in 2018. Richard is a committed environmentalist who has
led all Iceland’s recent sustainability initiatives including its pledge to eliminate plastic
packaging from the Iceland own label range by 2023 and to remove palm oil as an
ingredient from its own label food by the end of 2018. Outside family and business,
his greatest passions are trail running, skiing, surfing and climbing.

Kate Wylie

Global vice-president of sustainability, Mars

Kate Wylie

Global vice-president of sustainability, Mars

Kate Wylie is the Global Vice President for Sustainability at the food and drink company Mars Incorporated. She leads the corporation’s sustainable sourcing framework, socioeconomic impact strategy and sits on Mars’ Sustainability Strategy & Policymaking Group. She joined the business in 2010 as Director of Sustainability for Mars Drinks and in 2013 progressed to lead the development of Mars Incorporated’s sustainable sourcing strategy, including the launch of their Deforestation Policy and investment in the Livelihoods Fund for Family Farming. More recently, Kate developed Mars Incorporated’s Income strategy defining Mars’ new long-term ambition for everyone in its supply chain to earn a decent standard of living and the launch of the Farmer Income Lab. Previously Kate has championed sustainable development within businesses both large and small, ranging from eBay to The Carbon Neutral Company. Kate is a Visiting Fellow at the Smith School of Enterprise and Environment at Oxford University and holds a first class honours in Economics from Manchester University. She sits on the Advisory Board for the Sustainable Food Lab and the Investment Committee for the Livelihoods Fund for Family Farming. In 2015 leading sustainability publication BusinessGreen named Kate as one of the “Top 30 Women Shaping Sustainable Business.”

Fernando Medina

Mayor, European Green Capital 2020, Lisbon

Fernando Medina

Mayor, European Green Capital 2020, Lisbon

Fernando Medina has a degree in Economics and a master in Economic Sociology. He was an advisor to the Portuguese Investment Agency (2003) and to the Institute of Innovation and Training (1998-2000) and a member of the Ministry of Education’s Working Group for the Portuguese Presidency (1999-2000). He became a member of the Prime Minister’s cabinet as an advisor on Science, Technology and Education (2000-2002) before holding his first political appointments as secretary of state for Employment and Vocational Training (2005-2009) and secretary of state for Industry and Development (2009-2011). In 2011 he was elected as an MEP in the Portuguese Parliament, a position held until 2013, when he was first elected deputy mayor in Lisbon. In 2015 he became the mayor of Lisbon and was re-elected in 2017 with a progressive platform based on green infrastructure development, a paradigm shift in public space from a car to a people-centric approach, investments in public transportation and affordable housing, integrated in a comprehensive and ambitious climate action plan.

Luigi Brugnaro

Mayor, Venice

Luigi Brugnaro

Mayor, Venice

Luigi Brugnaro was born in 1961. His parents are Maria, an elementary school teacher, and Ferruccio, a workman, trade union leader and poet.

He founded Umana, a corporation with 600 million Euros in revenue that includes 23 companies active in the fields of utilities, manufacturing, building industry, sports and agriculture. But Umana is also the name of the employment agency opened in 1997, that became one of the leading companies in the sector in just a few years.

In 2006 he took over the Reyer basketball club. Umana Reyer men's team claimed the Italian Basketball Championship on June 20th, 2017 and won the FIBA Europe Cup in 2018.

He has been president of Confindustria Venezia from 2009 to 2013 and member of the national Confindustria board.

Since 2015 he is the mayor of Venice, vice President of the Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia, president of the Fondazione Teatro La Fenice and vice president of the Biennale. He was the first mayor in Italy to put his assets in a blind trust.

He is also mayor of the Venice Metropolitan City and came in second place on the 2016 Governance Poll by Il Sole24Ore, becoming the second most loved city leader in Italy that year.

Tom Delay CBE

Chief executive, The Carbon Trust

Tom Delay CBE

Chief executive, The Carbon Trust

Tom was appointed as the first chief executive of the Carbon Trust in 2001. Since then, he has grown the company to become a world leader in advising businesses, governments and the public sector on carbon emissions reduction and the development of low carbon technologies, markets and businesses.

Tom has placed the Carbon Trust at the heart of low carbon business, helping identify and capture the commercial opportunities of a sustainable, low carbon World. In recent years, he has taken the company's unique capability to international markets including China, Korea, Mexico, Brazil, India and South Africa, extending its mission to accelerate the move to a sustainable, low carbon economy.

A chartered engineer, Tom began his career with Shell, working for 16 years in commercial and operations roles including four years as General Manager of Pizo Shell - a subsidiary in Gabon, Africa. He moved into management consultancy with McKinsey and then as a Principal with the Global Energy Practice of A.T. Kearney before joining the Carbon Trust.

Tom gained a first class honours degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Southampton in 1981 and completed an MBA, with distinction, at INSEAD in 1988.

Tom is a member of the UK Energy Research Partnership and chairs the advisory board of the MSc in Climate Change, Management & Finance at Imperial College London. He was awarded a CBE by the Queen in the New Year’s Honours 2018 for services to sustainability in business.

Dominic Emery

Vice-president long-term strategy, BP

Dominic Emery

Vice-president long-term strategy, BP

Dr Dominic Emery is vice president, group strategic planning for BP, responsible for strategy development, long-term planning and policy. Dominic is a geology graduate and has worked for BP since 1986. He has held positions in Upstream, working in Asia, the Middle East and Europe. He has also led European Gas and Power business development, as well as running power assets at BP industrial sites. He joined BP Alternative Energy in 2007, ran Emerging Business &amp; Corporate Ventures in 2012 and moved to his current role in 2013. In addition to his BP role, Dominic was the founding CEO of OGCI Climate Investments, a $1bn fund set up by oil and gas companies to invest in technologies and projects to reduce carbon emissions. He is also on the Board of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative and alternate on the Board of the UK Energy Technologies Institute.

Peter Harris

Sustainability director Europe, UPS

Peter Harris

Sustainability director Europe, UPS

Peter Harris is the sustainability director for Europe at UPS. He has been with UPS for 27 years, in a variety of roles including in corporate compliance and in industrial engineering. Before joining UPS, he worked at TfL and as a volunteer agricultural engineer in Indonesia. He is also a non-executive director for Coperforma, providing non-emergency passenger transport services for the NHS.

Halide Alagöz

Halide Alagöz

Halide Alagöz is executive vice president, chief supply chain and sustainability officer of Ralph Lauren Corporation. Ms. Alagöz is responsible for all areas of supply chain, from product development, sourcing to delivery of our products worldwide. She leads the Company’s production, sourcing and logistics functions and partners with the brand, regional and other corporate teams to strengthen the brand, drive profitable sales growth and deliver strong shareholder return. She also oversees Ralph Lauren’s Sustainability strategy and initiatives. Ms. Alagöz joined the Company in 2016. Prior to joining Ralph Lauren, Halide was with H&M Corporation for 18 years, most recently in Hong Kong as the Head of Purchasing. During her tenure with H&M, Halide was responsible for various Regional and Global Supply Chain operations. During her time with H&M, Halide and her family have lived in Hong Kong, China, Bangladesh and in her native country, Turkey. Halide earned both her Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial Engineering and her Master’s Degree in Engineering Management from Istanbul Technical University. Halide is a member of the Board of the American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA).

Pernilla Halldin

Public affairs and engagement lead climate and circular, sustainability, H&M Group

Pernilla Halldin

Public affairs and engagement lead climate and circular, sustainability, H&M Group

Pernilla Halldin has extensive international experience in government affairs/public affairs, stakeholder engagement and communication from Stockholm, Hong Kong, Beijing and Washington. She has worked at the H&M group for the past 12 years, both at the Global Head Office in Stockholm and at the Global Production Office in Hong Kong. The last five years she has deep-dived into sustainability and Public Affairs, with a focus on Asia, particularly China, as well as from a global perspective. She has great passion for developing strategies, implementing and leading international projects.

Liam Condon

President, crop science division, Bayer

Liam Condon

President, crop science division, Bayer

Condon has been a member of the board of management of Bayer AG since January 2016 and president of the Crop Science division since December 2012. He is also responsible for the Animal Health Business Unit. Condon studied International Business at the Dublin City University and – as a scholarship holder of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) – at the Technical University of Berlin. After graduating, Condon joined the former Schering AG and held various sales and marketing positions in the pharmaceutical business. In February 2005, he was appointed managing director of Schering in China. Following Bayer’s acquisition of Schering in 2006, Condon was appointed as managing director of Bayer HealthCare and general manager of Bayer Pharma in China until December 2009. In January 2010, Condon was appointed managing director of Bayer HealthCare and head of Bayer Schering Pharma in Germany. In December 2012, he became chairman of the Board of Management of Bayer CropScience AG. Since 2016 Condon is a member of the Governor’s Panel for Consumer Industries at the World Economic Forum and since September 2017 Condon is also the chairman of the board of directors of CropLife International, the R&D based agricultural industry association.

Philip Lymbery

Chief executive, Compassion in World Farming

Philip Lymbery

Chief executive, Compassion in World Farming

Philip Lymbery is Chief Executive of the leading international farm animal welfare organisation, Compassion in World Farming, Visiting Professor at the University of Winchester and Vice-President of Eurogroup for Animals, Brussels. He is an award winning author, ornithologist, photographer, naturalist and self-confessed animal advocate. For 25 years Philip has worked extensively on animal welfare issues, wildlife and the environment. He is a recognised thought leader, his lectures taking him across the globe to meet and exchange ideas with like minded specialists, experts and individuals. He regularly commentates in the media and on speaker platforms about the global effects of industrial farming.

Philip has played leading roles in many major animal welfare reforms, including Europe-wide bans on veal crates for calves and barren battery cages for laying hens. Described as one of the food industry's most influential people, he has spearheaded Compassion's engagement work with over 800 food companies worldwide, leading to real improvements in the lives of over a billion farm animals every year. It was also Philip's vision to set up the world's first extinction and livestock conference in London in October 2017, bringing together Compassion in World Farming and the World Wildlife Fund, supported by HRH Prince of Wales Charitable Foundation. The conference was seen as bridging a long-standing divide between conservation and animal welfare.

Philip has always been a visionary with his writing too, always seeking new insights and helping others to learn from his international research. Philip's first book, Farmageddon: The true cost of cheap meat, was the first to show a mainstream audience that factory farming is not only the biggest cause of animal cruelty on the planet, but is also at the centre of what is wrong with our broken food system. It received worldwide acclaim and was chosen as one of The Times Writers' Books of the Year in 2014 and cited by the Mail on Sunday as a compelling 'game changer'. This was followed by the publication of 'Farmageddon in Pictures: The True Cost of Cheap Meat - in bite-sized pieces, a pictorial version of the famous and award-winning original. Philip's second book Dead Zone: Where the wild things were has been the first book to show how factory farming is a major driver of wildlife declines worldwide: from iconic mammals, to sea life, birds, reptiles and insects and how once plentiful species now face extinction due in large part to mankind's drive for cheap meat. It too, was chosen as one of the Daily Mail’s ‘Must Reads’ and described by New Statesman as 'Highly informed, utterly compelling. Lymbery's narrative threads are subtle and replete with powerful evidence. He does a superb job of equipping us with the hard facts. No author can do more'. All proceeds of Philip's books go towards Compassion in World Farming.

Awards during Philip's tenure as CEO at CIWF include: The Observer Ethical Award for Campaigner of the Year, BBC Radio 4 Food and Farming award for Best Campaigner and Educator, Recipient of the 'outstanding campaigning' award by Brussels based Eurogroup for Animals and The 2015 'International Golden Dove' peace prize in Rome.

Amelia Tan

Managing, BlackRock

Amelia Tan

Managing, BlackRock

Amelia Tan, Director, is a member of the BlackRock Sustainable Investing team in EMEA. The Sustainable Investing team is focused on identifying drivers of long-term return associated with environmental, social and governance issues, integrating them throughout Blackrock's investment processes, and creating solutions for our clients to achieve sustainable investment return.

Prior to her current role, Amelia was a member of BlackRock's Strategic Product Management team where she held roles in Innovation and Product Development to source and commercialise new product ideas. Prior to joining BlackRock in 2011, Amelia held several roles over six years at Citibank in Singapore, focused on wealth management.

Amelia holds a Bachelor of Business Administration (with honours) from the National University of Singapore, and an MBA from Judge Business School, University of Cambridge.

James Atkins

Chairman, Vertis Environmental Finance

James Atkins

Chairman, Vertis Environmental Finance

James is founder and chairman of Vertis Environmental Finance, one of Europe’s largest emission trading firms. Vertis trades with industrial and aviation clients across Europe in the EU Emission Trading Scheme and works with them to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

He is also a co-founder of two start-ups, the Bird-friendly Farming Group, which aims to scale up bird-friendly farming to tackle loss of farmland bird- and insect-life; and Planet Super League, which uses the power of football to get fans to engage in green activities.

James studied modern languages at Cambridge University. Before setting up Vertis he worked with Arthur Andersen, Waste Management International and Deloitte.

He writes a blog, the Bustard, on the topic of environment, society and economics, and man’s relationship with nature, and wrote a book, Climate Change for Football Fans.

Mari Yoshitaka

After working for an IT company and a U.S. investment bank, Mari received M.S from the Department of Natural Resources and Environment at the University of Michigan, Graduate School of Environmental Policy. While working for the International Finance Corporation, she performed social impact studies for environmental projects in developing nations. Mari joined Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities in August 2000 as Chief Consultant of Clean Energy Finance Division (current Environmental Strategy Advisory Division). Since then she has been working on climate change policy especially climate finance and mitigation projects and pursuing modalities of enhancing financial incentives to reduce greenhouse gases emissions as well as adaptation/resilience and to generate multiple environmental socioeconomic benefits including human well-being improvement. With this experiences in climate change finance, her expertise is now advisory and consulting on the field of ESG investment. She was appointed as specially project professor of Graduate School of Media and Governance, Keio University in 2008 as a Part-time lecturer of Environmental Business Designing.

Gerbrand Haverkamp

Executive director, World Benchmarking Alliance

Gerbrand Haverkamp

Executive director, World Benchmarking Alliance

Gerbrand is responsible for the direction and daily operations of the World Benchmarking Alliance. He believes that society won’t progress without companies that align their business with societal interest. All of us should therefore have something to say on how we want companies to shape our lives and the world around us. Based on these societal expectations we can rightly credit companies that lead while holding others accountable, encouraging both to do better. He originally founded and led Index Initiative, one of WBA’s founding partners, in that capacity he led the global consultation on the WBA. Before founding Index Initiative he worked for the Dutch Government in the areas of inclusive business, sustainable agricultural supply chains and food security.

Naoko Ishii

Chief executive and chairperson, Global Environment Facility

Naoko Ishii

Chief executive and chairperson, Global Environment Facility

Naoko Ishii, elected as chief executive officer and chair of the Global Environment Facility in 2012, has led the development and implementation of the GEF’s first-ever long-term strategy. It positioned the GEF to address the underlying drivers of environmental degradation and to catalyze systems transformation in energy, cities and food systems while protecting critical ecosystems. Throughout GEF operations, she has promoted integrated approaches for greater results and actively pursued opportunities for the GEF to create and participate in multi-stakeholder platforms. She successfully concluded two international replenishment negotiations, both of which mobilized more than 4 billion US dollars for the GEF. Before Joining the GEF, Naoko was Japan deputy vice minister of Finance, and represented the Japanese Government during the design of the Green Climate Fund. She worked as a country director for the World Bank, and has held positions at the IMF and Harvard Institute for International Development. Naoko is a member of World Economic Forum Stewardship Board, Natural Environment and Resource Security System Initiative, special advisor of the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development, member of the Leadership Council of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, and of the Advisory Committee of Future Earth. She also serves on the Global Advisory Board of the University of Tokyo. She has published numerous papers and several books, two of which were awarded the Suntory Prize (1990) and Okita Memorial Prize for International Development Research (2004). She is the inaugural recipient of the 2006 Enjoji Jiro Memorial Prize. Naoko holds a B.A. and a Ph.D. from the University of Tokyo.

Monica Araya

Chief executive and co-founder, Costa Rica Limpia

Monica Araya

Chief executive and co-founder, Costa Rica Limpia

Monica Araya is an advocate, adviser and communicator who has incubated several initiatives in Latin America. She founded Costa Rica Limpia to bring people closer to clean, smarter technologies that improve their everyday life. Her work focuses on consumer and citizen engagement in the shift toward renewable energy and zero emissions electric mobility. Her group pioneered Movilidad Eléctrica – the first electric mobility platforms in Latin America devoted to the education of consumers about electric vehicles. She also co-founded the Electric Mobility Association in Costa Rica and is vice president of the board. Her blog, “Essentially Electric” is hosted at the business newspaper La República. She writes frequently for international and local media and has given talks in Latin America, Europe and Asia. Her TED talk fossil-free Costa Rica that has over one million views and has been translated into 30 languages. In 2017 she was mentor to the Next Visionaries, a TED & BMW’s initiative about the future of mobility. In December 2016, she joined the world´s largest all-female expedition to Antarctica and was the first Latin American member of this global “women in STEM” leadership network. The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs named her “Personality of the Future”. Her work has been mentioned TIME magazine, the Financial Times, Hindu Times, The Independent, National Geographic, El País, Repubblica, and The Guardian.

Eben Schwartz

Marine debris program manager, California Coastal Commission

Eben Schwartz

Marine debris program manager, California Coastal Commission

A staff member of the California Coastal Commission since 2000, Eben Schwartz runs Marine Debris and Public Outreach programs for the Public Education Program. Eben has a long and broad history of work on plastic pollution and marine debris, topics on which he has become one of the state’s leading authorities. As the leader of California Coastal Cleanup Day, California’s largest volunteer event, as well as the year-round Adopt-A-Beach Program, Eben has helped motivate tens of thousands of citizens to become active in the fight against plastic pollution. Eben works with hundreds of non-profit organizations, local government agencies, and corporate sponsors to coordinate beach and inland shoreline cleanups as well as develop long-term policies that will reduce the need for cleanups in the future by stopping pollution at its source. Eben serves as the Chair of the West Coast Marine Debris Alliance, an organization that he helped found in 2008, initially as part of the West Coast Governors’ Alliance on Ocean Health. Among its many projects, the Marine Debris Alliance drafted a comprehensive strategy that has been used as inspiration for local actions to combat plastic pollution in Washington, Oregon, and California. From 2007 to 2009, Eben served as the Chair of the California Ocean Protection Council’s Marine Debris Steering Committee, which crafted and passed the Council’s Resolution on Ocean Litter and its corresponding Implementation Strategy, the first such statewide policy on marine debris. Recently, Eben reprised that role, serving on the planning committee for the Council’s update of the Ocean Litter Strategy, which was adopted and published in April 2018. Prior to his work with the Coastal Commission, Eben worked in conservation programs at the Sierra Club at both the local and national levels. From 2007-2009, Eben served as one of the inaugural Catto Fellows with the Aspen Institute, a program designed for emerging leaders in the environment and energy sector. Eben holds a BA from Johns Hopkins University.

Polly Courtice

Polly Courtice

Polly is the director of the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL). She is also the founder director of The Prince of Wales's Business and Sustainability Programme, and academic director of the University’s Master of Studies in Sustainability Leadership. She is a director of Judge Business School Executive Education Limited, and a member of the University’s Environmental Sustainability Strategy Committee and the Board of Executive and Professional Education.

Polly is a Director of Jupiter Green Investment Trust and a Non-Executive Director of Anglian Water Services Ltd. She serves on the environmental/sustainability advisory boards for AstraZeneca, Lloyds Banking Group and Nespresso and she is a member of the judging panel for the Queen’s Award for Sustainable Development.

In 2008 Polly was made a Lieutenant of the Victorian Order (LVO) announced in the Queen's Birthday Honors list.

Matthew Gorman

Sustainability & environment director, Heathrow

Matthew Gorman

Sustainability & environment director, Heathrow

Matthew has been Sustainability & Environment Director at Heathrow for the last 10 years. He leads the team that developed “Heathrow 2.0”, the airport’s leadership plan for sustainable growth, launched in 2017. He is a member of the company’s leadership team and played a key role in developing the new approach to expansion - putting local communities and environment at the heart of the airport’s growth plans. Those plans were recommended by Airports’ Commission, supported by the Government, and won strong parliamentary backing in June 2018. Matthew works closely with community, business and government stakeholders in the UK, Europe and internationally. He chairs the Heathrow Community Noise Forum, engaging a range of neighbouring boroughs He is a Council member and past Chair of Sustainable Aviation, a unique coalition of UK airlines, aircraft and engine manufacturers and airports which promotes cleaner, quieter, smarter flying. He has represented the global airports industry in the International Civil Aviation Organisation’s working group on aviation and climate change, and Heathrow on the Prince of Wales’s Corporate Leaders Group on Climate Change since its foundation in 2005. Prior to Heathrow, Matthew worked at leading sustainable development not-for-profit Forum for the Future, advising FTSE 100 companies on. He started his career on the graduate programme of global consultancy Environment Resources Management. He is a trustee of the Hillingdon Community Trust and a past Vice-Chair of SERA, the Labour Environment Campaign, of Tourism Concern, which campaigns for ethical tourism, and of the Heathrow Community Fund. Matthew is a fluent French and Spanish speaker and has co-authored a book on corporate responsibility: ‘Big Business, Big Responsibilities. From villains to visionaries - how companies are tackling the world’s greatest challenges’. Matthew has a BA in French and Hispanic Studies from the University of Liverpool, an MPhil in Environment & Development from the University of Cambridge and an MProf in Sustainable Development from Middlesex University/Forum for the Future.

Deon Nel

Chief executive, Global Resilience Partnership

Deon Nel

Chief executive, Global Resilience Partnership

Dr Deon Nel is the chief executive of the Global Resilience Partnership, a partnership of public and private sector organisations joining forces to help build he resilience of the most vulnerable people and places. Previously, he held the position of executive director for Conservation at WWF International, where he played a leading role in the strategic refocus of WWF’s global conservation programme. Deon is a South African by nationality and previous roles include director of conservation for WWF’s Africa Programme as well conservation director in WWF South Africa. He also led their Ecosystems and Water Competency Areas at South Africa’s national Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). He holds a PhD in Ecology, a Masters degree in Conservation Biology, a Masters Environmental Law and a Masters in Business Administration

Ankit Agarwal

Co-founder, Help Us Green

Ankit Agarwal

Co-founder, Help Us Green

Ankit Agarwal is the founder of Kanpur Flowercycling, a social enterprise that owns the brand HelpUsGreen. HelpUsGreen helps to preserve the Ganges River by “flowercycling” waste from temples and mosques that is dumped into the river, repurposing used flowers into patented fertiliser and incense products. This, in turn, provides livelihoods to manual scavenger families in India.

Mr Agarwal was awarded the UN Environment Programme and Centre for Environment Education Unsung Heroes Award, the Wharton India Economic Forum People's Choice Award 2017, the TiE Global Spirit of Manufacturing Award for Social Impact and the prestigious Abby Gold 2016. He has worked on sustainability projects across 26 countries and was selected among 21 young leaders for extraordinary skills by the Asia Society. He is an Acumen Fellow and a GAP (Global Action on Poverty) Changemaker.

Mr Agarwal received his bachelor's degree in computer engineering followed by a master's degree in innovation management from the Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, Pune. He has worked at Symantec Corporation as an automation scientist, has published 17 research papers and holds a patent.

Norichika Kanie

Professor, graduate school of media governance, Keio University

Norichika Kanie

Professor, graduate school of media governance, Keio University

Norichika Kanie is a professor at the Graduate School of Media Governance, Keio University, and a Senior Research Fellow at United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNI-IAS). He is also the President of the xSDG Laboratory at Keio SFC Research Institute. As the leading expert on the Sustainable Development Goals, he serves various committees and steering groups, particularly in Japan, including: the SDGs Promotion Headquarters Stakeholder Round-Table, the Promotion of Overcoming Population Decline and Vitalizing Local Economy in Japan.

Sandra Roling

Head of EV100, The Climate Group

Sandra Roling

Head of EV100, The Climate Group

Sandra Roling is The Climate Group’s Head of EV100, bringing together major companies committed to accelerating the switch to electric transport to make it ‘the new normal’ by 2030. Sandra has held various positions in developing The Climate Group’s engagement work with business as well as sub-national government. She was also part of the founding secretariat for the We Mean Business coalition. Prior to joining The Climate Group, Sandra spent eight years in Brussels, where she set led the public affairs team of a German political communications agency and set up its EU office. Sandra holds a BA in European Studies from the University of Osnabrück, Germany, as well as an MA in Central and Eastern European Studies from the Jagiellonian University in Cracow, Poland and an MSc in Sustainable Development from the University of Exeter, UK.

Laura Kelly

Director, shaping sustainable markets, International Institute for Environment and Development

Laura Kelly

Director, shaping sustainable markets, International Institute for Environment and Development

Laura Is currently director of the Shaping Sustainable Markets Group at the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED). The Group covers improving access to energy, resilient marine ecosystems, valuing natural capital, sustainable food systems, artisanal and small-scale mining and leveraging private investment for sustainable development. Laura has held senior roles in UK government and NGOs, including leading the inclusive and responsible business agenda and Africa trade policy work in the Department for International Development (DFID); European Policy Director of ONE and agriculture and trade policy lead at ActionAid. With degrees in agriculture and international development, Laura is a visiting professor in practice at LSE, has also written and lectured widely on trade and development, as well as participating in WTO, G20 and G8 negotiations.

Ahmad Wani

Chief executive officer, One Concern

Ahmad Wani

Chief executive officer, One Concern

Ahmad Wani serves as the CEO and Co-Founder of One Concern, a Palo Alto-based benevolent artificial intelligence company, with a mission to save lives and livelihoods before, during and after natural disasters. As the leader of One Concern, Mr. Wani directs the company’s day to day operations and is responsible for the development and execution of its long-term strategy and vision.

A native of Kashmir, South Asia, Mr. Wani survived the devastation of major disasters that impacted his family and community, providing the inspiration that fuels his commitment to building global resilience. Recognizing the inadequacy of traditional disaster solutions, Mr. Wani and his team at One Concern are using artificial intelligence to revolutionize the world’s understanding of natural phenomena sciences, thereby enabling both government and the private sector to better prepare for, respond to and recover from natural disasters.

Mr. Wani holds a Graduate Degree in Structural Engineering, with a focus on seismic engineering, from Stanford University. Before attending Stanford, Mr. Wani graduated top of his class at the National Institute of Technology, India, earning a Gold Medal award for distinction. Before moving to California, Mr. Wani performed structural design and risk analysis for critical infrastructure for the Central Government of India.

Daniel Franklin

Executive editor, The Economist

Daniel Franklin

Executive editor, The Economist

Daniel Franklin has been executive editor of The Economist since 2006 and editor since 2003 of The Economist‘s annual publication, 'The World in…'; which focuses on the year ahead. His book on long-term trends, 'Megachange: The World in 2050', was published in 2012. Mr Franklin joined The Economist in 1983 to write about Soviet and East European affairs. As the newspaper’s Europe editor from 1986 to 1992 he covered the great European upheavals, from the collapse of communism to the signing of the Maastricht treaty. After a stint as Britain editor he moved to the United States as Washington bureau chief, covering the first Clinton term. In 1997 he moved back to London as editorial director of the Economist Intelligence Unit. From 2006 to 2010 he was editor-in-chief of Economist.com. For the following four years he was business affairs editor, running the paper’s coverage of business, finance, science and technology. He also helps with new initiatives undertaken by The Economist Group. His special report on corporate social responsibility, 'Just good business', was published in 2008.

Jan Piotrowski

Business editor, The Economist

Jan Piotrowski

Business editor, The Economist

Jan Piotrowski is The Economist‘s Environment editor. Previously he was São Paulo bureau chief. Jan also held the position of the online science editor, having joined The Economist following a three-month stint as the Richard Casement science intern in 2008. He is a regular contributor to “The World In” annual compilation of forecasts, which examines the critical issues that will shape the year ahead, as well as a number of Economist blogs, including Americas View, Babbage and Game Theory. Mr Piotrowski holds a PhD in linguistics and philosophy from Warsaw University, where he lectured in semantics and translation theory. Before joining The Economist, he also worked as a translator and interpreter.

Catherine Brahic

Environment editor, The Economist

Catherine Brahic

Environment editor, The Economist

Catherine Brahic is The Economist's environment editor. She joined The Economist as science correspondent in September 2018. Prior to that, Ms Brahic was a reporter, environment editor and features editor for New Scientist, from 2006 until 2018, a correspondent for SciDev.Net, and a freelance journalist. At New Scientist, she covered the environment and life sciences, with a focus on climate change and human evolution, reporting from the Arctic and the Sahel, as well as a number of UN climate summits, including COP15 in Copenhagen and COP21 in Paris. In 2013, she gave evidence before the UK Parliamentary Select Committee on Science and Technology, on climate change and the media. Ms Brahic has a research background in neuroscience.

Agenda

Registration

9:00 AM

Chairs’ opening remarks

Daniel Franklin

Executive editor, The Economist

Daniel Franklin

Executive editor, The Economist

Daniel Franklin has been executive editor of The Economist since 2006 and editor since 2003 of The Economist‘s annual publication, 'The World in…'; which focuses on the year ahead. His book on long-term trends, 'Megachange: The World in 2050', was published in 2012. Mr Franklin joined The Economist in 1983 to write about Soviet and East European affairs. As the newspaper’s Europe editor from 1986 to 1992 he covered the great European upheavals, from the collapse of communism to the signing of the Maastricht treaty. After a stint as Britain editor he moved to the United States as Washington bureau chief, covering the first Clinton term. In 1997 he moved back to London as editorial director of the Economist Intelligence Unit. From 2006 to 2010 he was editor-in-chief of Economist.com. For the following four years he was business affairs editor, running the paper’s coverage of business, finance, science and technology. He also helps with new initiatives undertaken by The Economist Group. His special report on corporate social responsibility, 'Just good business', was published in 2008.

9:10 AM

Keynote interview: Facing the facts

The 53 countries of the Commonwealth are amongst the world’s largest, smallest, richest and poorest, with the majority being highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. The Rt Hon Patricia Scotland will discuss the importance of measuring progress in sustainable development, as well as, take a look at new initiatives and tools being used across the Commonwealth to succeed in meeting goals.

Patricia Scotland QC

Secretary general, The Commonwealth

Patricia Scotland QC

Secretary general, The Commonwealth

The Rt Hon Patricia Scotland QC took office as Secretary-General of the Commonwealth in April 2016. The Commonwealth is a family of 53 independent sovereign states, and home to 2.4 billion people. Building on the Commonwealth Advantage of shared inheritances, and similarities of law and administration, its members are committed to creating a more inclusive, sustainable, and resilient future for all.

The people and institutions of the Commonwealth work together through a broad range of intergovernmental, civil society, cultural and professional organisations committed to the shared values and principles of the Commonwealth Charter that cherish equality of opportunity and celebrate diversity.

In a career of firsts, Patricia Scotland is the first woman to hold the post of Secretary-General. Born in Dominica, she moved to the UK at an early age and was brought up in a large close-knit Caribbean family where she was taught the importance of hard work, education, pride in her heritage and the obligation to give back to the region of her birth and to the society in which she was raised. This ethos has guided her throughout her dynamic career in law, politics and public service.

A lawyer by profession, she became the first black and youngest woman ever to be appointed Queen's Counsel. She is the only woman since the post was created in 1315 to be Attorney General for England and Wales.

Appointed to the House of Lords as Baroness Scotland of Asthal, she is Alderman for Bishopsgate Ward in the City of London and Chancellor of the University of Greenwich.

Daniel Franklin

Executive and diplomatic editor, The Economist

Daniel Franklin

Executive and diplomatic editor, The Economist

In 2018 Daniel Franklin was appointed to executive and diplomatic editor. Daniel initially held the role of Executive Editor of The Economist from 2006 and Editor since 2003 of The Economist‘s annual publication, “The World in…”; which focuses on the year ahead. Daniel published Megatech: Technology in 2050 in 2017 and his book on long-term trends, “Megachange: The World in 2050”, was published in 2012. Mr Franklin joined The Economist in 1983 to write about Soviet and East European affairs. As the newspaper’s Europe Editor from 1986 to 1992 he covered the great European upheavals, from the collapse of communism to the signing of the Maastricht treaty. After a stint as Britain Editor he moved to the United States as Washington Bureau Chief, covering the first Clinton term. In 1997 he moved back to London as Editorial Director of the Economist Intelligence Unit. From 2006 to 2010 he was Editor-in-Chief of Economist.com. For the following four years he was Business Affairs Editor, running the paper’s coverage of business, finance, science and technology. He also helps with new initiatives undertaken by The Economist Group. His special report on corporate social responsibility, “Just good business”, was published in 2008.

9:30 AM

Keynote panel: A new economic model?

Governments often cite the role of businesses in delivering the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). But, as recent research from the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) suggests, businesses will be unable to produce the necessary results without the banks and government. In this opening panel, a business leader, a financier and a policymaker will discuss the ways in which their sustainability efforts interact, and the biggest obstacles to progress that they face. Is it time to reboot the global economy to respond to the new demands created by climate change?

Daniel Calleja Crespo

Director general, environment, European Commission

Daniel Calleja Crespo

Director general, environment, European Commission

Since he first joined the Commission in 1986, Daniel Calleja has worked in several different areas which accounts for his broad expertise and experience. Prior to being appointed director general for DG Environment on 1 st September 2015, he was director general of DG GROWTH. From February 2011 to January 2012, he was deputy director general of DG ENTR, and special envoy for SMEs. From 1993 to 2004, Mr. Calleja worked in the cabinets of several commissioners, including the president of the European Commission, advising on Transport and Competition matters, State Aids and the application of Community Law. Between 1999 and 2004 he was head of cabinet for both commissioner Oreja and vice-president Mrs. Loyola de Palacio, in charge of Transport and Energy where he contributed decisively to the development of some key files. Daniel Calleja started his career in the Commission as member of the legal service between 1986 and 1993. During that period, his background being Law and Business Administration, he represented the institution in numerous cases before the European Court of Justice.

Kate Wylie

Global vice-president of sustainability, Mars

Kate Wylie

Global vice-president of sustainability, Mars

Kate Wylie is the Global Vice President for Sustainability at the food and drink company Mars Incorporated. She leads the corporation’s sustainable sourcing framework, socioeconomic impact strategy and sits on Mars’ Sustainability Strategy & Policymaking Group. She joined the business in 2010 as Director of Sustainability for Mars Drinks and in 2013 progressed to lead the development of Mars Incorporated’s sustainable sourcing strategy, including the launch of their Deforestation Policy and investment in the Livelihoods Fund for Family Farming. More recently, Kate developed Mars Incorporated’s Income strategy defining Mars’ new long-term ambition for everyone in its supply chain to earn a decent standard of living and the launch of the Farmer Income Lab. Previously Kate has championed sustainable development within businesses both large and small, ranging from eBay to The Carbon Neutral Company. Kate is a Visiting Fellow at the Smith School of Enterprise and Environment at Oxford University and holds a first class honours in Economics from Manchester University. She sits on the Advisory Board for the Sustainable Food Lab and the Investment Committee for the Livelihoods Fund for Family Farming. In 2015 leading sustainability publication BusinessGreen named Kate as one of the “Top 30 Women Shaping Sustainable Business.”

Polly Courtice

Polly Courtice

Polly is the director of the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL). She is also the founder director of The Prince of Wales's Business and Sustainability Programme, and academic director of the University’s Master of Studies in Sustainability Leadership. She is a director of Judge Business School Executive Education Limited, and a member of the University’s Environmental Sustainability Strategy Committee and the Board of Executive and Professional Education.

Polly is a Director of Jupiter Green Investment Trust and a Non-Executive Director of Anglian Water Services Ltd. She serves on the environmental/sustainability advisory boards for AstraZeneca, Lloyds Banking Group and Nespresso and she is a member of the judging panel for the Queen’s Award for Sustainable Development.

In 2008 Polly was made a Lieutenant of the Victorian Order (LVO) announced in the Queen's Birthday Honors list.

James Atkins

Chairman, Vertis Environmental Finance

James Atkins

Chairman, Vertis Environmental Finance

James is founder and chairman of Vertis Environmental Finance, one of Europe’s largest emission trading firms. Vertis trades with industrial and aviation clients across Europe in the EU Emission Trading Scheme and works with them to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

He is also a co-founder of two start-ups, the Bird-friendly Farming Group, which aims to scale up bird-friendly farming to tackle loss of farmland bird- and insect-life; and Planet Super League, which uses the power of football to get fans to engage in green activities.

James studied modern languages at Cambridge University. Before setting up Vertis he worked with Arthur Andersen, Waste Management International and Deloitte.

He writes a blog, the Bustard, on the topic of environment, society and economics, and man’s relationship with nature, and wrote a book, Climate Change for Football Fans.

Jan Piotrowski

Business editor, The Economist

Jan Piotrowski

Business editor, The Economist

Jan Piotrowski is The Economist‘s Environment editor. Previously he was São Paulo bureau chief. Jan also held the position of the online science editor, having joined The Economist following a three-month stint as the Richard Casement science intern in 2008. He is a regular contributor to “The World In” annual compilation of forecasts, which examines the critical issues that will shape the year ahead, as well as a number of Economist blogs, including Americas View, Babbage and Game Theory. Mr Piotrowski holds a PhD in linguistics and philosophy from Warsaw University, where he lectured in semantics and translation theory. Before joining The Economist, he also worked as a translator and interpreter.

10:10 AM

Hard talk part I: Do plastics really matter?

Since an episode of the BBC’s “Blue Planet II”, aired in 2017, highlighted the scale of plastic pollution in the ocean, it has become a fashionable issue for businesses and governments to get behind. But is plastic pollution really that bad in the context of other, more pressing, concerns on the environmental agenda? In this conversation, three speakers will present their views, moderated by one of our chairs. At the end of the session, audience members will be able to ask questions and have their input on whose point of view was more compelling.

Philip Lymbery

Chief executive, Compassion in World Farming

Philip Lymbery

Chief executive, Compassion in World Farming

Philip Lymbery is Chief Executive of the leading international farm animal welfare organisation, Compassion in World Farming, Visiting Professor at the University of Winchester and Vice-President of Eurogroup for Animals, Brussels. He is an award winning author, ornithologist, photographer, naturalist and self-confessed animal advocate. For 25 years Philip has worked extensively on animal welfare issues, wildlife and the environment. He is a recognised thought leader, his lectures taking him across the globe to meet and exchange ideas with like minded specialists, experts and individuals. He regularly commentates in the media and on speaker platforms about the global effects of industrial farming.

Philip has played leading roles in many major animal welfare reforms, including Europe-wide bans on veal crates for calves and barren battery cages for laying hens. Described as one of the food industry's most influential people, he has spearheaded Compassion's engagement work with over 800 food companies worldwide, leading to real improvements in the lives of over a billion farm animals every year. It was also Philip's vision to set up the world's first extinction and livestock conference in London in October 2017, bringing together Compassion in World Farming and the World Wildlife Fund, supported by HRH Prince of Wales Charitable Foundation. The conference was seen as bridging a long-standing divide between conservation and animal welfare.

Philip has always been a visionary with his writing too, always seeking new insights and helping others to learn from his international research. Philip's first book, Farmageddon: The true cost of cheap meat, was the first to show a mainstream audience that factory farming is not only the biggest cause of animal cruelty on the planet, but is also at the centre of what is wrong with our broken food system. It received worldwide acclaim and was chosen as one of The Times Writers' Books of the Year in 2014 and cited by the Mail on Sunday as a compelling 'game changer'. This was followed by the publication of 'Farmageddon in Pictures: The True Cost of Cheap Meat - in bite-sized pieces, a pictorial version of the famous and award-winning original. Philip's second book Dead Zone: Where the wild things were has been the first book to show how factory farming is a major driver of wildlife declines worldwide: from iconic mammals, to sea life, birds, reptiles and insects and how once plentiful species now face extinction due in large part to mankind's drive for cheap meat. It too, was chosen as one of the Daily Mail’s ‘Must Reads’ and described by New Statesman as 'Highly informed, utterly compelling. Lymbery's narrative threads are subtle and replete with powerful evidence. He does a superb job of equipping us with the hard facts. No author can do more'. All proceeds of Philip's books go towards Compassion in World Farming.

Awards during Philip's tenure as CEO at CIWF include: The Observer Ethical Award for Campaigner of the Year, BBC Radio 4 Food and Farming award for Best Campaigner and Educator, Recipient of the 'outstanding campaigning' award by Brussels based Eurogroup for Animals and The 2015 'International Golden Dove' peace prize in Rome.

Eben Schwartz

Marine debris program manager, California Coastal Commission

Eben Schwartz

Marine debris program manager, California Coastal Commission

A staff member of the California Coastal Commission since 2000, Eben Schwartz runs Marine Debris and Public Outreach programs for the Public Education Program. Eben has a long and broad history of work on plastic pollution and marine debris, topics on which he has become one of the state’s leading authorities. As the leader of California Coastal Cleanup Day, California’s largest volunteer event, as well as the year-round Adopt-A-Beach Program, Eben has helped motivate tens of thousands of citizens to become active in the fight against plastic pollution. Eben works with hundreds of non-profit organizations, local government agencies, and corporate sponsors to coordinate beach and inland shoreline cleanups as well as develop long-term policies that will reduce the need for cleanups in the future by stopping pollution at its source. Eben serves as the Chair of the West Coast Marine Debris Alliance, an organization that he helped found in 2008, initially as part of the West Coast Governors’ Alliance on Ocean Health. Among its many projects, the Marine Debris Alliance drafted a comprehensive strategy that has been used as inspiration for local actions to combat plastic pollution in Washington, Oregon, and California. From 2007 to 2009, Eben served as the Chair of the California Ocean Protection Council’s Marine Debris Steering Committee, which crafted and passed the Council’s Resolution on Ocean Litter and its corresponding Implementation Strategy, the first such statewide policy on marine debris. Recently, Eben reprised that role, serving on the planning committee for the Council’s update of the Ocean Litter Strategy, which was adopted and published in April 2018. Prior to his work with the Coastal Commission, Eben worked in conservation programs at the Sierra Club at both the local and national levels. From 2007-2009, Eben served as one of the inaugural Catto Fellows with the Aspen Institute, a program designed for emerging leaders in the environment and energy sector. Eben holds a BA from Johns Hopkins University.

Tom Delay CBE

Chief executive, The Carbon Trust

Tom Delay CBE

Chief executive, The Carbon Trust

Tom was appointed as the first chief executive of the Carbon Trust in 2001. Since then, he has grown the company to become a world leader in advising businesses, governments and the public sector on carbon emissions reduction and the development of low carbon technologies, markets and businesses.

Tom has placed the Carbon Trust at the heart of low carbon business, helping identify and capture the commercial opportunities of a sustainable, low carbon World. In recent years, he has taken the company's unique capability to international markets including China, Korea, Mexico, Brazil, India and South Africa, extending its mission to accelerate the move to a sustainable, low carbon economy.

A chartered engineer, Tom began his career with Shell, working for 16 years in commercial and operations roles including four years as General Manager of Pizo Shell - a subsidiary in Gabon, Africa. He moved into management consultancy with McKinsey and then as a Principal with the Global Energy Practice of A.T. Kearney before joining the Carbon Trust.

Tom gained a first class honours degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Southampton in 1981 and completed an MBA, with distinction, at INSEAD in 1988.

Tom is a member of the UK Energy Research Partnership and chairs the advisory board of the MSc in Climate Change, Management & Finance at Imperial College London. He was awarded a CBE by the Queen in the New Year’s Honours 2018 for services to sustainability in business.

Catherine Brahic

Environment editor, The Economist

Catherine Brahic

Environment editor, The Economist

Catherine Brahic is The Economist's environment editor. She joined The Economist as science correspondent in September 2018. Prior to that, Ms Brahic was a reporter, environment editor and features editor for New Scientist, from 2006 until 2018, a correspondent for SciDev.Net, and a freelance journalist. At New Scientist, she covered the environment and life sciences, with a focus on climate change and human evolution, reporting from the Arctic and the Sahel, as well as a number of UN climate summits, including COP15 in Copenhagen and COP21 in Paris. In 2013, she gave evidence before the UK Parliamentary Select Committee on Science and Technology, on climate change and the media. Ms Brahic has a research background in neuroscience.

10:40 AM

Networking break

11:10 AM

In focus: Measurement and progress

The IPCC report on climate change delivered a stark prognosis: we have 12 years to limit a climate change catastrophe. In this the panellists will discuss the importance of measurement and holding companies to account to uncover how this will help to deliver progress on climate change targets.

Gerbrand Haverkamp

Executive director, World Benchmarking Alliance

Gerbrand Haverkamp

Executive director, World Benchmarking Alliance

Gerbrand is responsible for the direction and daily operations of the World Benchmarking Alliance. He believes that society won’t progress without companies that align their business with societal interest. All of us should therefore have something to say on how we want companies to shape our lives and the world around us. Based on these societal expectations we can rightly credit companies that lead while holding others accountable, encouraging both to do better. He originally founded and led Index Initiative, one of WBA’s founding partners, in that capacity he led the global consultation on the WBA. Before founding Index Initiative he worked for the Dutch Government in the areas of inclusive business, sustainable agricultural supply chains and food security.

Dominic Emery

Vice-president long-term strategy, BP

Dominic Emery

Vice-president long-term strategy, BP

Dr Dominic Emery is vice president, group strategic planning for BP, responsible for strategy development, long-term planning and policy. Dominic is a geology graduate and has worked for BP since 1986. He has held positions in Upstream, working in Asia, the Middle East and Europe. He has also led European Gas and Power business development, as well as running power assets at BP industrial sites. He joined BP Alternative Energy in 2007, ran Emerging Business &amp; Corporate Ventures in 2012 and moved to his current role in 2013. In addition to his BP role, Dominic was the founding CEO of OGCI Climate Investments, a $1bn fund set up by oil and gas companies to invest in technologies and projects to reduce carbon emissions. He is also on the Board of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative and alternate on the Board of the UK Energy Technologies Institute.

Daniel Franklin

Executive and diplomatic editor, The Economist

Daniel Franklin

Executive and diplomatic editor, The Economist

In 2018 Daniel Franklin was appointed to executive and diplomatic editor. Daniel initially held the role of Executive Editor of The Economist from 2006 and Editor since 2003 of The Economist‘s annual publication, “The World in…”; which focuses on the year ahead. Daniel published Megatech: Technology in 2050 in 2017 and his book on long-term trends, “Megachange: The World in 2050”, was published in 2012. Mr Franklin joined The Economist in 1983 to write about Soviet and East European affairs. As the newspaper’s Europe Editor from 1986 to 1992 he covered the great European upheavals, from the collapse of communism to the signing of the Maastricht treaty. After a stint as Britain Editor he moved to the United States as Washington Bureau Chief, covering the first Clinton term. In 1997 he moved back to London as Editorial Director of the Economist Intelligence Unit. From 2006 to 2010 he was Editor-in-Chief of Economist.com. For the following four years he was Business Affairs Editor, running the paper’s coverage of business, finance, science and technology. He also helps with new initiatives undertaken by The Economist Group. His special report on corporate social responsibility, “Just good business”, was published in 2008.

11:30 AM

Leadership and Change

Successful change is one of biggest challenges that modern organisations face. How do today’s business leaders hold up promises for change? Who is accountable if developments are not achieved? How do they apply strategic foresight across planning and operations of the company to ensure sustainable practices are embedded? What does success look like?

Manfred Rudhart

Chief executive, Arriva Group

Manfred Rudhart

Chief executive, Arriva Group

Manfred is chief executive of Arriva Group – a €5.3bn business that operates passenger transport services across 14 European countries, employing over 60,000 people with responsibility for moving more than 2.4 billion passengers annually. Manfred joined Arriva as chief executive in January 2016 following eight years in a variety of senior management and financial roles within Deutsche Bahn AG, including chief executive for DB Regio AG, which operates short distance train services, metros and buses in Germany. Prior to that Manfred worked for management consultancy firm Booz Allen Hamilton, Germany. Manfred started his professional career in research and development for laser applications. He studied electrical engineering at the Technical University of Karlsruhe before gaining a PhD in the same field at the Franco-Allemand Institute in Saint-Louis, France in 1995.

Naoko Ishii

Chief executive and chairperson, Global Environment Facility

Naoko Ishii

Chief executive and chairperson, Global Environment Facility

Naoko Ishii, elected as chief executive officer and chair of the Global Environment Facility in 2012, has led the development and implementation of the GEF’s first-ever long-term strategy. It positioned the GEF to address the underlying drivers of environmental degradation and to catalyze systems transformation in energy, cities and food systems while protecting critical ecosystems. Throughout GEF operations, she has promoted integrated approaches for greater results and actively pursued opportunities for the GEF to create and participate in multi-stakeholder platforms. She successfully concluded two international replenishment negotiations, both of which mobilized more than 4 billion US dollars for the GEF. Before Joining the GEF, Naoko was Japan deputy vice minister of Finance, and represented the Japanese Government during the design of the Green Climate Fund. She worked as a country director for the World Bank, and has held positions at the IMF and Harvard Institute for International Development. Naoko is a member of World Economic Forum Stewardship Board, Natural Environment and Resource Security System Initiative, special advisor of the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development, member of the Leadership Council of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, and of the Advisory Committee of Future Earth. She also serves on the Global Advisory Board of the University of Tokyo. She has published numerous papers and several books, two of which were awarded the Suntory Prize (1990) and Okita Memorial Prize for International Development Research (2004). She is the inaugural recipient of the 2006 Enjoji Jiro Memorial Prize. Naoko holds a B.A. and a Ph.D. from the University of Tokyo.

Jan Piotrowski

Business editor, The Economist

Jan Piotrowski

Business editor, The Economist

Jan Piotrowski is The Economist‘s Environment editor. Previously he was São Paulo bureau chief. Jan also held the position of the online science editor, having joined The Economist following a three-month stint as the Richard Casement science intern in 2008. He is a regular contributor to “The World In” annual compilation of forecasts, which examines the critical issues that will shape the year ahead, as well as a number of Economist blogs, including Americas View, Babbage and Game Theory. Mr Piotrowski holds a PhD in linguistics and philosophy from Warsaw University, where he lectured in semantics and translation theory. Before joining The Economist, he also worked as a translator and interpreter.

11:55 AM

In focus: Sustainable and the City

Last year we heard from three cities on their individual experiences. A year on we revisit the topic to discuss and measure what has changed with the Mayors of Venice and European green capital 2020’s, Lisbon.

Fernando Medina

Mayor, European Green Capital 2020, Lisbon

Fernando Medina

Mayor, European Green Capital 2020, Lisbon

Fernando Medina has a degree in Economics and a master in Economic Sociology. He was an advisor to the Portuguese Investment Agency (2003) and to the Institute of Innovation and Training (1998-2000) and a member of the Ministry of Education’s Working Group for the Portuguese Presidency (1999-2000). He became a member of the Prime Minister’s cabinet as an advisor on Science, Technology and Education (2000-2002) before holding his first political appointments as secretary of state for Employment and Vocational Training (2005-2009) and secretary of state for Industry and Development (2009-2011). In 2011 he was elected as an MEP in the Portuguese Parliament, a position held until 2013, when he was first elected deputy mayor in Lisbon. In 2015 he became the mayor of Lisbon and was re-elected in 2017 with a progressive platform based on green infrastructure development, a paradigm shift in public space from a car to a people-centric approach, investments in public transportation and affordable housing, integrated in a comprehensive and ambitious climate action plan.

Luigi Brugnaro

Mayor, Venice

Luigi Brugnaro

Mayor, Venice

Luigi Brugnaro was born in 1961. His parents are Maria, an elementary school teacher, and Ferruccio, a workman, trade union leader and poet.

He founded Umana, a corporation with 600 million Euros in revenue that includes 23 companies active in the fields of utilities, manufacturing, building industry, sports and agriculture. But Umana is also the name of the employment agency opened in 1997, that became one of the leading companies in the sector in just a few years.

In 2006 he took over the Reyer basketball club. Umana Reyer men's team claimed the Italian Basketball Championship on June 20th, 2017 and won the FIBA Europe Cup in 2018.

He has been president of Confindustria Venezia from 2009 to 2013 and member of the national Confindustria board.

Since 2015 he is the mayor of Venice, vice President of the Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia, president of the Fondazione Teatro La Fenice and vice president of the Biennale. He was the first mayor in Italy to put his assets in a blind trust.

He is also mayor of the Venice Metropolitan City and came in second place on the 2016 Governance Poll by Il Sole24Ore, becoming the second most loved city leader in Italy that year.

Jan Piotrowski

Business editor, The Economist

Jan Piotrowski

Business editor, The Economist

Jan Piotrowski is The Economist‘s Environment editor. Previously he was São Paulo bureau chief. Jan also held the position of the online science editor, having joined The Economist following a three-month stint as the Richard Casement science intern in 2008. He is a regular contributor to “The World In” annual compilation of forecasts, which examines the critical issues that will shape the year ahead, as well as a number of Economist blogs, including Americas View, Babbage and Game Theory. Mr Piotrowski holds a PhD in linguistics and philosophy from Warsaw University, where he lectured in semantics and translation theory. Before joining The Economist, he also worked as a translator and interpreter.

12:20 PM

Interview series: Spotlight: A tragedy of the commons

The countries that bear the most historical responsibility for climate change are likely to be the ones least harmed by its consequences. In this session, we will hear first-hand experiences from representatives in countries disproportionately affected by environmental degradation. Which issues need to prioritised? What areas aren’t receiving enough attention? And, crucially, how do you capture the attention of those with the power to change things?

Neil Parson

Public sector lead, Caribbean Climate-Smart Accelerator

Neil Parson

Public sector lead, Caribbean Climate-Smart Accelerator

Ambassador Dr. Neil Parsan assumed the position of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the United States of America, non-resident Ambassador to the United Mexican States, and Permanent Representative of Trinidad and Tobago to the Organization of American States (OAS) in February, 2011. Recently he was the Executive Secretary for Integral Development at the Organization of American States (OAS) as confirmed by thirty four (34) countries through the Inter-American Council for Integral Development (CIDI) in September, 2015.
Dr. Parsan earned his Undergraduate Medical Degree at the University of the West Indies, Faculty of Medical Sciences, where he graduated with Distinction. After spending eight (8) years as a Lecturer/Tutor at the Faculty of Medical Sciences (UWI), he pursued a Master of Business Administration (MBA), where he graduated as Top Student with Distinction. He also holds a Registered Financial Consultant (RFC) Degree, a CACM from Harvard University School of Public Health, and a World Trade Professional Degree from ITM Worldwide in Sweden. Dr. Parsan was also awarded an Honorary Doctorate for education, culture, and humanitarian work from the American University, registered with Cambridge University (UK) and the Congress of Mexico.
Ambassador Parsan is presently Special Advisor to the World Bank Group, President of Virtual Educa Global Alliance, Chairman of the Global Gas Council; Chairman of the Honorary Council of World Gas Conference 2018, Chairman of the Global Alliance for Surgical, Obstetric, Trauma, and Anaesthetic Care (The G4 Alliance); and a Director of the Young Americas Business Trust (YABT) and the Arthur Lok Jack Graduate School of Business (GSB) Alumni Board. He previously served as Chair of the Inter-American Council for Integral Development (CIDI) and Chair of the Permanent Council Organization of American States. He was also Chair of the OAS’ Retirement and Pension Committee.

Monica Araya

Chief executive and co-founder, Costa Rica Limpia

Monica Araya

Chief executive and co-founder, Costa Rica Limpia

Monica Araya is an advocate, adviser and communicator who has incubated several initiatives in Latin America. She founded Costa Rica Limpia to bring people closer to clean, smarter technologies that improve their everyday life. Her work focuses on consumer and citizen engagement in the shift toward renewable energy and zero emissions electric mobility. Her group pioneered Movilidad Eléctrica – the first electric mobility platforms in Latin America devoted to the education of consumers about electric vehicles. She also co-founded the Electric Mobility Association in Costa Rica and is vice president of the board. Her blog, “Essentially Electric” is hosted at the business newspaper La República. She writes frequently for international and local media and has given talks in Latin America, Europe and Asia. Her TED talk fossil-free Costa Rica that has over one million views and has been translated into 30 languages. In 2017 she was mentor to the Next Visionaries, a TED & BMW’s initiative about the future of mobility. In December 2016, she joined the world´s largest all-female expedition to Antarctica and was the first Latin American member of this global “women in STEM” leadership network. The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs named her “Personality of the Future”. Her work has been mentioned TIME magazine, the Financial Times, Hindu Times, The Independent, National Geographic, El País, Repubblica, and The Guardian.

Ankit Agarwal

Co-founder, Help Us Green

Ankit Agarwal

Co-founder, Help Us Green

Ankit Agarwal is the founder of Kanpur Flowercycling, a social enterprise that owns the brand HelpUsGreen. HelpUsGreen helps to preserve the Ganges River by “flowercycling” waste from temples and mosques that is dumped into the river, repurposing used flowers into patented fertiliser and incense products. This, in turn, provides livelihoods to manual scavenger families in India.

Mr Agarwal was awarded the UN Environment Programme and Centre for Environment Education Unsung Heroes Award, the Wharton India Economic Forum People's Choice Award 2017, the TiE Global Spirit of Manufacturing Award for Social Impact and the prestigious Abby Gold 2016. He has worked on sustainability projects across 26 countries and was selected among 21 young leaders for extraordinary skills by the Asia Society. He is an Acumen Fellow and a GAP (Global Action on Poverty) Changemaker.

Mr Agarwal received his bachelor's degree in computer engineering followed by a master's degree in innovation management from the Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, Pune. He has worked at Symantec Corporation as an automation scientist, has published 17 research papers and holds a patent.

Daniel Franklin

Executive and diplomatic editor, The Economist

Daniel Franklin

Executive and diplomatic editor, The Economist

In 2018 Daniel Franklin was appointed to executive and diplomatic editor. Daniel initially held the role of Executive Editor of The Economist from 2006 and Editor since 2003 of The Economist‘s annual publication, “The World in…”; which focuses on the year ahead. Daniel published Megatech: Technology in 2050 in 2017 and his book on long-term trends, “Megachange: The World in 2050”, was published in 2012. Mr Franklin joined The Economist in 1983 to write about Soviet and East European affairs. As the newspaper’s Europe Editor from 1986 to 1992 he covered the great European upheavals, from the collapse of communism to the signing of the Maastricht treaty. After a stint as Britain Editor he moved to the United States as Washington Bureau Chief, covering the first Clinton term. In 1997 he moved back to London as Editorial Director of the Economist Intelligence Unit. From 2006 to 2010 he was Editor-in-Chief of Economist.com. For the following four years he was Business Affairs Editor, running the paper’s coverage of business, finance, science and technology. He also helps with new initiatives undertaken by The Economist Group. His special report on corporate social responsibility, “Just good business”, was published in 2008.

12:50 PM

Networking lunch

1:15 PM

Executive lunch panel: The road to resilience

Sponsored by The Government of Japan

In 2018, the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) revealed a sharp increase in economic losses caused by climate-related disasters during the past 20 years. Ignored, climate change could continually undermine efforts of even the most farsighted governments, with a single event pushing back focus on steady, long-term economic progress. Building resilience to unforeseen extreme weather or damaging natural events is key. What insights from other countries can aid in an international preparation framework? What technologies are pivotal to prediction and reaction time? How can we reach a coherent approach to risk which tackles humanitarian and financial outcomes through sustained political commitments?

Mami Mizutori

Special representative of the UN Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction

Mami Mizutori

Special representative of the UN Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction

Mami Mizutori is the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General (SRSG) for Disaster Risk Reduction, and head of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, based in Geneva, Switzerland. She assumed her role on 1 March 2018. The role of the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction is to support countries and stakeholders in the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015- 2030). The Special Representative ensures the strategic and operational coherence between disaster risk reduction, climate change and sustainable development agendas as well as the linkage with the UN Secretary General’s prevention agenda and with humanitarian action. Ms. Mizutori served for twenty-seven years in various capacities in the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Prior to joining the UN, Ms. Mizutori was Executive Director of the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures, University of East Anglia, UK, since 2011. Ms. Mizutori graduated in law from Hitotsubashi University, Tokyo and obtained a Diploma in International Studies from the Diplomatic School of Spain. A Japanese national, Ms. Mizutori speaks Japanese, English and Spanish.

Nick Mabey

Chief executive and founding director, E3G

Nick Mabey

Chief executive and founding director, E3G

Nick Mabey is chief executive officer and a founding director of E3G (Third Generation Environmentalism), a non-profit organisation dedicated to accelerating the transition to sustainable development. He leads E3G’s work on European climate change policy, climate diplomacy and foreign policy, and the security implications of climate change and resource scarcity. Mr Mabey worked previously for the UK Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit, including national and international policy on energy, climate change and countries at risk of instability. Before joining government he was head of economics and development at WWF-UK, and worked in the British electricity industry.

Ahmad Wani

Chief executive officer, One Concern

Ahmad Wani

Chief executive officer, One Concern

Ahmad Wani serves as the CEO and Co-Founder of One Concern, a Palo Alto-based benevolent artificial intelligence company, with a mission to save lives and livelihoods before, during and after natural disasters. As the leader of One Concern, Mr. Wani directs the company’s day to day operations and is responsible for the development and execution of its long-term strategy and vision.

A native of Kashmir, South Asia, Mr. Wani survived the devastation of major disasters that impacted his family and community, providing the inspiration that fuels his commitment to building global resilience. Recognizing the inadequacy of traditional disaster solutions, Mr. Wani and his team at One Concern are using artificial intelligence to revolutionize the world’s understanding of natural phenomena sciences, thereby enabling both government and the private sector to better prepare for, respond to and recover from natural disasters.

Mr. Wani holds a Graduate Degree in Structural Engineering, with a focus on seismic engineering, from Stanford University. Before attending Stanford, Mr. Wani graduated top of his class at the National Institute of Technology, India, earning a Gold Medal award for distinction. Before moving to California, Mr. Wani performed structural design and risk analysis for critical infrastructure for the Central Government of India.

Mari Yoshitaka

After working for an IT company and a U.S. investment bank, Mari received M.S from the Department of Natural Resources and Environment at the University of Michigan, Graduate School of Environmental Policy. While working for the International Finance Corporation, she performed social impact studies for environmental projects in developing nations. Mari joined Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities in August 2000 as Chief Consultant of Clean Energy Finance Division (current Environmental Strategy Advisory Division). Since then she has been working on climate change policy especially climate finance and mitigation projects and pursuing modalities of enhancing financial incentives to reduce greenhouse gases emissions as well as adaptation/resilience and to generate multiple environmental socioeconomic benefits including human well-being improvement. With this experiences in climate change finance, her expertise is now advisory and consulting on the field of ESG investment. She was appointed as specially project professor of Graduate School of Media and Governance, Keio University in 2008 as a Part-time lecturer of Environmental Business Designing.

Amelia Tan

Managing, BlackRock

Amelia Tan

Managing, BlackRock

Amelia Tan, Director, is a member of the BlackRock Sustainable Investing team in EMEA. The Sustainable Investing team is focused on identifying drivers of long-term return associated with environmental, social and governance issues, integrating them throughout Blackrock's investment processes, and creating solutions for our clients to achieve sustainable investment return.

Prior to her current role, Amelia was a member of BlackRock's Strategic Product Management team where she held roles in Innovation and Product Development to source and commercialise new product ideas. Prior to joining BlackRock in 2011, Amelia held several roles over six years at Citibank in Singapore, focused on wealth management.

Amelia holds a Bachelor of Business Administration (with honours) from the National University of Singapore, and an MBA from Judge Business School, University of Cambridge.

Jan Piotrowski

Business editor, The Economist

Jan Piotrowski

Business editor, The Economist

Jan Piotrowski is The Economist‘s Environment editor. Previously he was São Paulo bureau chief. Jan also held the position of the online science editor, having joined The Economist following a three-month stint as the Richard Casement science intern in 2008. He is a regular contributor to “The World In” annual compilation of forecasts, which examines the critical issues that will shape the year ahead, as well as a number of Economist blogs, including Americas View, Babbage and Game Theory. Mr Piotrowski holds a PhD in linguistics and philosophy from Warsaw University, where he lectured in semantics and translation theory. Before joining The Economist, he also worked as a translator and interpreter.

2:15 PM

The good news

In media coverage of sustainable development, good news often goes unnoticed. In this short talk, our speakers will run through some of the positive developments of the past year to highlight the sustainability efforts that have really made a difference.

Norichika Kanie

Professor, graduate school of media governance, Keio University

Norichika Kanie

Professor, graduate school of media governance, Keio University

Norichika Kanie is a professor at the Graduate School of Media Governance, Keio University, and a Senior Research Fellow at United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNI-IAS). He is also the President of the xSDG Laboratory at Keio SFC Research Institute. As the leading expert on the Sustainable Development Goals, he serves various committees and steering groups, particularly in Japan, including: the SDGs Promotion Headquarters Stakeholder Round-Table, the Promotion of Overcoming Population Decline and Vitalizing Local Economy in Japan.

Catherine Brahic

Environment editor, The Economist

Catherine Brahic

Environment editor, The Economist

Catherine Brahic is The Economist's environment editor. She joined The Economist as science correspondent in September 2018. Prior to that, Ms Brahic was a reporter, environment editor and features editor for New Scientist, from 2006 until 2018, a correspondent for SciDev.Net, and a freelance journalist. At New Scientist, she covered the environment and life sciences, with a focus on climate change and human evolution, reporting from the Arctic and the Sahel, as well as a number of UN climate summits, including COP15 in Copenhagen and COP21 in Paris. In 2013, she gave evidence before the UK Parliamentary Select Committee on Science and Technology, on climate change and the media. Ms Brahic has a research background in neuroscience.

2:35 PM

Hard talk part II: Forget mitigation, it’s all about adaptation

Have we already passed the point of no return? Are we fooling ourselves into thinking that the damage can be reversed? Is it time to start focusing our energies on adaptation rather than mitigation? In this discussion, two speakers will present their views. At the end of the session, audience members will be able to ask questions and have their input on whose point of view was more compelling.

Deon Nel

Chief executive, Global Resilience Partnership

Deon Nel

Chief executive, Global Resilience Partnership

Dr Deon Nel is the chief executive of the Global Resilience Partnership, a partnership of public and private sector organisations joining forces to help build he resilience of the most vulnerable people and places. Previously, he held the position of executive director for Conservation at WWF International, where he played a leading role in the strategic refocus of WWF’s global conservation programme. Deon is a South African by nationality and previous roles include director of conservation for WWF’s Africa Programme as well conservation director in WWF South Africa. He also led their Ecosystems and Water Competency Areas at South Africa’s national Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). He holds a PhD in Ecology, a Masters degree in Conservation Biology, a Masters Environmental Law and a Masters in Business Administration

Han de Groot

Chief executive officer, Rainforest Alliance

Han de Groot

Chief executive officer, Rainforest Alliance

As chief executive officer, Han de Groot leads the Rainforest Alliance’s global strategy. With a strong vision and passion for sustainability, he has overseen the growth of UTZ to become the world’s largest certification program for coffee and cocoa and now leads the merged Rainforest Alliance. Han has dedicated his career to sustainable development. After studying economics at the University of Wageningen, he worked for more than 12 years at Oxfam Novib, eventually leading the organization’s work in Eastern and Southern Africa. In 1998 Han joined the Dutch government. From 2005 to 2010, he held various positions at the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, including deputy director for Nature. He also started an interdepartmental program for biodiversity and was briefly seconded to the European Commission.

Daniel Franklin

Executive and diplomatic editor, The Economist

Daniel Franklin

Executive and diplomatic editor, The Economist

In 2018 Daniel Franklin was appointed to executive and diplomatic editor. Daniel initially held the role of Executive Editor of The Economist from 2006 and Editor since 2003 of The Economist‘s annual publication, “The World in…”; which focuses on the year ahead. Daniel published Megatech: Technology in 2050 in 2017 and his book on long-term trends, “Megachange: The World in 2050”, was published in 2012. Mr Franklin joined The Economist in 1983 to write about Soviet and East European affairs. As the newspaper’s Europe Editor from 1986 to 1992 he covered the great European upheavals, from the collapse of communism to the signing of the Maastricht treaty. After a stint as Britain Editor he moved to the United States as Washington Bureau Chief, covering the first Clinton term. In 1997 he moved back to London as Editorial Director of the Economist Intelligence Unit. From 2006 to 2010 he was Editor-in-Chief of Economist.com. For the following four years he was Business Affairs Editor, running the paper’s coverage of business, finance, science and technology. He also helps with new initiatives undertaken by The Economist Group. His special report on corporate social responsibility, “Just good business”, was published in 2008.

3:00 PM

In conversation: Public health and the environment

According to data from the World Health Organisation (WHO), every year, 4.2m deaths worldwide are caused by the harmful effects of breathing polluted air. Water and food availability are becoming less predictable in many places. When the state of the environment becomes a public-health issue, how can policymakers combine their efforts? What are the other, most pressing, climate-related threats to human health? And how can we use public health as an avenue to promote behavioural change that would benefit the environment?

Liam Condon

President, crop science division, Bayer

Liam Condon

President, crop science division, Bayer

Condon has been a member of the board of management of Bayer AG since January 2016 and president of the Crop Science division since December 2012. He is also responsible for the Animal Health Business Unit. Condon studied International Business at the Dublin City University and – as a scholarship holder of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) – at the Technical University of Berlin. After graduating, Condon joined the former Schering AG and held various sales and marketing positions in the pharmaceutical business. In February 2005, he was appointed managing director of Schering in China. Following Bayer’s acquisition of Schering in 2006, Condon was appointed as managing director of Bayer HealthCare and general manager of Bayer Pharma in China until December 2009. In January 2010, Condon was appointed managing director of Bayer HealthCare and head of Bayer Schering Pharma in Germany. In December 2012, he became chairman of the Board of Management of Bayer CropScience AG. Since 2016 Condon is a member of the Governor’s Panel for Consumer Industries at the World Economic Forum and since September 2017 Condon is also the chairman of the board of directors of CropLife International, the R&D based agricultural industry association.

Laura Kelly

Director, shaping sustainable markets, International Institute for Environment and Development

Laura Kelly

Director, shaping sustainable markets, International Institute for Environment and Development

Laura Is currently director of the Shaping Sustainable Markets Group at the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED). The Group covers improving access to energy, resilient marine ecosystems, valuing natural capital, sustainable food systems, artisanal and small-scale mining and leveraging private investment for sustainable development. Laura has held senior roles in UK government and NGOs, including leading the inclusive and responsible business agenda and Africa trade policy work in the Department for International Development (DFID); European Policy Director of ONE and agriculture and trade policy lead at ActionAid. With degrees in agriculture and international development, Laura is a visiting professor in practice at LSE, has also written and lectured widely on trade and development, as well as participating in WTO, G20 and G8 negotiations.

Jan Piotrowski

Business editor, The Economist

Jan Piotrowski

Business editor, The Economist

Jan Piotrowski is The Economist‘s Environment editor. Previously he was São Paulo bureau chief. Jan also held the position of the online science editor, having joined The Economist following a three-month stint as the Richard Casement science intern in 2008. He is a regular contributor to “The World In” annual compilation of forecasts, which examines the critical issues that will shape the year ahead, as well as a number of Economist blogs, including Americas View, Babbage and Game Theory. Mr Piotrowski holds a PhD in linguistics and philosophy from Warsaw University, where he lectured in semantics and translation theory. Before joining The Economist, he also worked as a translator and interpreter.

3:25 PM

Networking break

4:00 PM

Panel discussion: Is green the new black?

Global clothing production doubled between 2000 and 2014 as garment firms’ operations became more efficient, their production cycles sped up and shoppers got better bargains. This has caused a considerable burden on the environment and from the ashes of the Aral Sea, the sustainable fashion industry has risen. This is a small silo of the fashion world but now, more than ever, consumers are waking up to the impact fast fashion has. From toxic pollutants and plastic microfibres infecting the oceans to using over 1,500 gallons of fresh water to make a single pair of jeans, it is time to upscale sustainable fashion. Can brands become sustainable without compromising their bottom line? What innovations could change the impact of the fashion industry on the environment?

Halide Alagöz

Halide Alagöz

Halide Alagöz is executive vice president, chief supply chain and sustainability officer of Ralph Lauren Corporation. Ms. Alagöz is responsible for all areas of supply chain, from product development, sourcing to delivery of our products worldwide. She leads the Company’s production, sourcing and logistics functions and partners with the brand, regional and other corporate teams to strengthen the brand, drive profitable sales growth and deliver strong shareholder return. She also oversees Ralph Lauren’s Sustainability strategy and initiatives. Ms. Alagöz joined the Company in 2016. Prior to joining Ralph Lauren, Halide was with H&M Corporation for 18 years, most recently in Hong Kong as the Head of Purchasing. During her tenure with H&M, Halide was responsible for various Regional and Global Supply Chain operations. During her time with H&M, Halide and her family have lived in Hong Kong, China, Bangladesh and in her native country, Turkey. Halide earned both her Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial Engineering and her Master’s Degree in Engineering Management from Istanbul Technical University. Halide is a member of the Board of the American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA).

Cyndi Rhoades

Founder and chief executive, Worn Again Technologies

Cyndi Rhoades

Founder and chief executive, Worn Again Technologies

Cyndi founded Worn Again Technologies, originally called Worn Again, back in 2005 with a determination to make a difference and a business out of solving the challenge of textiles waste. Cyndi began her career as a film maker in music videos and documentaries which over time evolved into a deep interest in the impacts of commerce and global economics on society and the environment. These interests led to the formation of Worn Again which she has been driving forward ever since, from its’ early beginnings in upcycling to its’ current transformation polymer recycling technology. Paving the way in this unchartered territory, Cyndi is a recognised thought (and ‘do’) leader and an advocate for polymer recycling technology as an enabler for a circular textiles industry. She is a regular speaker on circularity and innovation and is an award winning entrepreneur, having been selected as a Courvoisier Future 500 Ambassador, a Force for Good Pioneer by Tomorrow’s Company and an Enterprise UK Ambassador. Cyndi is an early pioneer of the sustainable fashion movement and a co-founder of the RE:Fashion Awards, the world’s first Sustainable Fashion Awards in London.

Tom Kay

Founder, Finisterre

Tom Kay

Founder, Finisterre

Tom Kay is the founder of Finisterre, a brand that he started in 2003. Born from Tom’s relationship with the sea and the needs of British cold water surfers, Finisterre builds the best and most sustainable product possible for those that share this love of the sea. Multi award winning and with a pioneering take on innovation to achieve sustainability found throughout its product line that ranges from waterproofs, insulation jackets, knitwear, merino base layers, wetsuits, organic jeans to shirts. The brand remains true to its founding commitments; to product, environment and people and has recently become a B Corps certified business. Tom lives in St. Agnes where is one of the helms on the RNLI lifeboat.

Pernilla Halldin

Public affairs and engagement lead climate and circular, sustainability, H&M Group

Pernilla Halldin

Public affairs and engagement lead climate and circular, sustainability, H&M Group

Pernilla Halldin has extensive international experience in government affairs/public affairs, stakeholder engagement and communication from Stockholm, Hong Kong, Beijing and Washington. She has worked at the H&M group for the past 12 years, both at the Global Head Office in Stockholm and at the Global Production Office in Hong Kong. The last five years she has deep-dived into sustainability and Public Affairs, with a focus on Asia, particularly China, as well as from a global perspective. She has great passion for developing strategies, implementing and leading international projects.

Daniel Franklin

Executive and diplomatic editor, The Economist

Daniel Franklin

Executive and diplomatic editor, The Economist

In 2018 Daniel Franklin was appointed to executive and diplomatic editor. Daniel initially held the role of Executive Editor of The Economist from 2006 and Editor since 2003 of The Economist‘s annual publication, “The World in…”; which focuses on the year ahead. Daniel published Megatech: Technology in 2050 in 2017 and his book on long-term trends, “Megachange: The World in 2050”, was published in 2012. Mr Franklin joined The Economist in 1983 to write about Soviet and East European affairs. As the newspaper’s Europe Editor from 1986 to 1992 he covered the great European upheavals, from the collapse of communism to the signing of the Maastricht treaty. After a stint as Britain Editor he moved to the United States as Washington Bureau Chief, covering the first Clinton term. In 1997 he moved back to London as Editorial Director of the Economist Intelligence Unit. From 2006 to 2010 he was Editor-in-Chief of Economist.com. For the following four years he was Business Affairs Editor, running the paper’s coverage of business, finance, science and technology. He also helps with new initiatives undertaken by The Economist Group. His special report on corporate social responsibility, “Just good business”, was published in 2008.

4:40 PM

Panel discussion: Getting real—Spotlight on transport

As the global economy has grown more interconnected, the transport of goods, services and people across land and oceans has become commonplace. The ability of businesses to move their people and products easily across borders has changed the dynamics of the global economy and allowed many low-income countries to reverse their fortunes. But transport is also one of the biggest contributors to pollution. Is it really possible to achieve sustainability in transport? What would it take to get there? And what are the most exciting developments happening in this sector?

Peter Harris

Sustainability director Europe, UPS

Peter Harris

Sustainability director Europe, UPS

Peter Harris is the sustainability director for Europe at UPS. He has been with UPS for 27 years, in a variety of roles including in corporate compliance and in industrial engineering. Before joining UPS, he worked at TfL and as a volunteer agricultural engineer in Indonesia. He is also a non-executive director for Coperforma, providing non-emergency passenger transport services for the NHS.

Matthew Gorman

Sustainability & environment director, Heathrow

Matthew Gorman

Sustainability & environment director, Heathrow

Matthew has been Sustainability & Environment Director at Heathrow for the last 10 years. He leads the team that developed “Heathrow 2.0”, the airport’s leadership plan for sustainable growth, launched in 2017. He is a member of the company’s leadership team and played a key role in developing the new approach to expansion - putting local communities and environment at the heart of the airport’s growth plans. Those plans were recommended by Airports’ Commission, supported by the Government, and won strong parliamentary backing in June 2018. Matthew works closely with community, business and government stakeholders in the UK, Europe and internationally. He chairs the Heathrow Community Noise Forum, engaging a range of neighbouring boroughs He is a Council member and past Chair of Sustainable Aviation, a unique coalition of UK airlines, aircraft and engine manufacturers and airports which promotes cleaner, quieter, smarter flying. He has represented the global airports industry in the International Civil Aviation Organisation’s working group on aviation and climate change, and Heathrow on the Prince of Wales’s Corporate Leaders Group on Climate Change since its foundation in 2005. Prior to Heathrow, Matthew worked at leading sustainable development not-for-profit Forum for the Future, advising FTSE 100 companies on. He started his career on the graduate programme of global consultancy Environment Resources Management. He is a trustee of the Hillingdon Community Trust and a past Vice-Chair of SERA, the Labour Environment Campaign, of Tourism Concern, which campaigns for ethical tourism, and of the Heathrow Community Fund. Matthew is a fluent French and Spanish speaker and has co-authored a book on corporate responsibility: ‘Big Business, Big Responsibilities. From villains to visionaries - how companies are tackling the world’s greatest challenges’. Matthew has a BA in French and Hispanic Studies from the University of Liverpool, an MPhil in Environment & Development from the University of Cambridge and an MProf in Sustainable Development from Middlesex University/Forum for the Future.

Sandra Roling

Head of EV100, The Climate Group

Sandra Roling

Head of EV100, The Climate Group

Sandra Roling is The Climate Group’s Head of EV100, bringing together major companies committed to accelerating the switch to electric transport to make it ‘the new normal’ by 2030. Sandra has held various positions in developing The Climate Group’s engagement work with business as well as sub-national government. She was also part of the founding secretariat for the We Mean Business coalition. Prior to joining The Climate Group, Sandra spent eight years in Brussels, where she set led the public affairs team of a German political communications agency and set up its EU office. Sandra holds a BA in European Studies from the University of Osnabrück, Germany, as well as an MA in Central and Eastern European Studies from the Jagiellonian University in Cracow, Poland and an MSc in Sustainable Development from the University of Exeter, UK.

Jan Piotrowski

Business editor, The Economist

Jan Piotrowski

Business editor, The Economist

Jan Piotrowski is The Economist‘s Environment editor. Previously he was São Paulo bureau chief. Jan also held the position of the online science editor, having joined The Economist following a three-month stint as the Richard Casement science intern in 2008. He is a regular contributor to “The World In” annual compilation of forecasts, which examines the critical issues that will shape the year ahead, as well as a number of Economist blogs, including Americas View, Babbage and Game Theory. Mr Piotrowski holds a PhD in linguistics and philosophy from Warsaw University, where he lectured in semantics and translation theory. Before joining The Economist, he also worked as a translator and interpreter.

5:10 PM

Closing interview: Stepping up to the environmental challenge

Richard Walker

Managing Director, Iceland Foods

Richard Walker

Managing Director, Iceland Foods

Richard Walker is Managing Director of Iceland Foods. He graduated in geography
from Durham University before qualifying as a chartered surveyor and developing his
own property businesses in Poland and the UK. He joined Iceland in 2012, spending
a year as a shelf-stacker and cashier in London before becoming an Iceland store
manager and then moving to head office, where he became a director in 2015 and
took up his current role in 2018. Richard is a committed environmentalist who has
led all Iceland’s recent sustainability initiatives including its pledge to eliminate plastic
packaging from the Iceland own label range by 2023 and to remove palm oil as an
ingredient from its own label food by the end of 2018. Outside family and business,
his greatest passions are trail running, skiing, surfing and climbing.

5:30 PM

Chair’s closing remarks

Daniel Franklin

Executive and diplomatic editor, The Economist

Daniel Franklin

Executive and diplomatic editor, The Economist

In 2018 Daniel Franklin was appointed to executive and diplomatic editor. Daniel initially held the role of Executive Editor of The Economist from 2006 and Editor since 2003 of The Economist‘s annual publication, “The World in…”; which focuses on the year ahead. Daniel published Megatech: Technology in 2050 in 2017 and his book on long-term trends, “Megachange: The World in 2050”, was published in 2012. Mr Franklin joined The Economist in 1983 to write about Soviet and East European affairs. As the newspaper’s Europe Editor from 1986 to 1992 he covered the great European upheavals, from the collapse of communism to the signing of the Maastricht treaty. After a stint as Britain Editor he moved to the United States as Washington Bureau Chief, covering the first Clinton term. In 1997 he moved back to London as Editorial Director of the Economist Intelligence Unit. From 2006 to 2010 he was Editor-in-Chief of Economist.com. For the following four years he was Business Affairs Editor, running the paper’s coverage of business, finance, science and technology. He also helps with new initiatives undertaken by The Economist Group. His special report on corporate social responsibility, “Just good business”, was published in 2008.

Jan Piotrowski

Business editor, The Economist

Jan Piotrowski

Business editor, The Economist

Jan Piotrowski is The Economist‘s Environment editor. Previously he was São Paulo bureau chief. Jan also held the position of the online science editor, having joined The Economist following a three-month stint as the Richard Casement science intern in 2008. He is a regular contributor to “The World In” annual compilation of forecasts, which examines the critical issues that will shape the year ahead, as well as a number of Economist blogs, including Americas View, Babbage and Game Theory. Mr Piotrowski holds a PhD in linguistics and philosophy from Warsaw University, where he lectured in semantics and translation theory. Before joining The Economist, he also worked as a translator and interpreter.

Catherine Brahic

Environment editor, The Economist

Catherine Brahic

Environment editor, The Economist

Catherine Brahic is The Economist's environment editor. She joined The Economist as science correspondent in September 2018. Prior to that, Ms Brahic was a reporter, environment editor and features editor for New Scientist, from 2006 until 2018, a correspondent for SciDev.Net, and a freelance journalist. At New Scientist, she covered the environment and life sciences, with a focus on climate change and human evolution, reporting from the Arctic and the Sahel, as well as a number of UN climate summits, including COP15 in Copenhagen and COP21 in Paris. In 2013, she gave evidence before the UK Parliamentary Select Committee on Science and Technology, on climate change and the media. Ms Brahic has a research background in neuroscience.

Venue

Situated on the Southbank of the Thames, etc.venues County Hall has an enviable location next to The London Eye with breathtaking views over The Houses of Parliament & Big Ben and easily accessible from both Waterloo and Westminster stations.

etc. venues County Hall

Sponsors

Supporting sponsor

Bayer

Bayer is a Life Science company with a more than 150-year history and core competencies in the areas of health care and agriculture. With our innovative products, we are contributing to finding solutions to some of the major challenges of our time.

Diamond sponsor

Diamond sponsor

The Government Of Japan

This year, Japan will host the G20 Summit and ministerial meetings, as well as the Seventh Tokyo International Conference on African Development. Additionally, the Rugby World Cup will take place in venues nationwide this autumn, followed by next year’s Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo.

Silver sponsors

UPS

UPS is a global leader in logistics, offering a range of solutions including transporting packages and freight; facilitating global trade, and deploying advanced technology to more efficiently manage the world of business. UPS is committed to operating more sustainably – for customers, the environment and the communities we serve around the world. Learn more at ups.com/sustainability

Bronze sponsor

Bronze sponsor

BP

BP is a global energy company with wide reach across the world’s energy system. The energy we produce serves to power economic growth and lift people out of poverty. In the future, the way heat, light and mobility are delivered will change. We aim to anchor our business in these changing patterns of demand, rather than in the quest for supply. We have a real contribution to make the world’s ambition of a low carbon future. We have operations in Europe, North and South America, Australasia, Asia and Africa, and employ around 75,000 people in 72 countries.

Supporting associations

PR agency

Porter Novelli

Porter Novelli is a global public relations agency built on a rich heritage of marketing for social good. We’ve been motivating people to change deeply ingrained behaviors rooted in cultural and social norms for more than 25 years. Porter Novelli is a different kind of agency—and we recognize, respect and champion companies with the spirit, drive and tenacity to do things differently. We like taking on big challenges, and even bigger challengers, and we seek out clients who feel the same way—clients who have the conviction to tell their own story, and the courage to innovate from who they have been into who they know they can be.

Supporting organisation

SYSTEMIQ

SYSTEMIQ was created in 2016 to drive achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Climate Agreement by transforming the land use, materials and energy systems. Working with partners across the private, public and third sectors, SYSTEMIQ aims to unlock economic opportunities that benefit business, society and the environment. To learn more, www.systemiq.earth

Media partner

Eco-Business

Established in 2009, Eco-Business is Asia Pacific’s leading media organisation on sustainable development. Its independent journalism unit publishes high quality, trusted news and views that advance dialogue and enables measurable impact on a wide range of sustainable development and responsible business issues.It is are headquartered in Singapore, with a presence in the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, India and Hong Kong. Eco-Business owns and operates the award-winning platform, www.eco-business.com, which attracts more than 120,000 high-level visitors every month.

Supporting organisation

University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL)

The University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) is a globally influential Institute developing leadership and solutions for a sustainable economy. Our Rewiring the Economy framework shows how the economy can be ‘rewired’, through focused collaboration between business, government and finance institutions, to deliver positive outcomes for people and environment in pursuit of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Supporting organisation

The Carbon Trust

The Carbon Trust is an independent, expert partner of leading organisations around the world, helping them contribute to and benefit from a more sustainable future through carbon reduction, resource efficiency strategies and commercialising low carbontechnologies. Visit www.carbontrust.com

Media partner

Global Sustain

Founded in 2006, Global Sustain with offices in Athens, Berlin, Brussels, London, New York and Nicosia, creates awareness and inspires and supports companies and organisations to embody sustainability, through advisory, communications, networking and training, with a focus on the people-planet-profit philosophy. Its members include corporations, non-governmental and non-profit organisations, municipalities and local authorities, educational foundations, media, professional bodies, think tanks and other public or private entities. Global Sustain is a signatory to the Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact, to the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), a GRI Data Partner and Organisational Stakeholder (OS), an affiliated member of the Academy of Business in Society, Social Value International, Institute of Directors, CEO Clubs and EFQM. www.globalsustain.org / www.globalsustaingroup.com

Media partner

Alliance

Alliance is the leading quarterly magazine for philanthropy and social investment worldwide. It provides news and analysis of what's happening in the philanthropy and social investment sectors across the world. Both the magazine and alliancemagazine.org act as a forum for exchange of ideas and experiences among philanthropy practitioners.

The critical role of infrastructure for the Sustainable Development Goals

Find out how the three pillars of sustainable development—the economy, the environment and wider society—as well as the overarching theme of resilience can help to assess the role of infrastructure in meeting global social and environmental goals.

Future of Fashion

It is one of the fastest growing industries in the world, a global business shaped and reshaped by competition, creativity and innovation. IN FASHION the challenges of the 21st century now offer ever greater cause to adapt. From disruptive new technologies to more demanding clients and customers and a growing awareness of the industry’s environmental impact – discover how the fashion industry is reinventing itself once again.

Speaking opportunities

Sponsorship opportunities

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